Living in house whilst extension takes place

[Ilovechocolatetoomuch]

We will still have two bedrooms, a utility, bathroom, lounge and a study which should be (apart from the dust) untouched.
We are having a double story extension built on the back of the house so access should be through the side gate and they will have their own loo .
So until knockthrough they shouldn’t need to be in the house at all.
Has anybody stayed in their house whilst this kind of work is going on? How bad is it when they knockthrough? And how long did you move out for if you did? I am thinking week away whilst they do the knocking through but it’s hard to book when you don’t know when they will start.

We had a double storey side extension. I said exactly the same as you before it started.
We had a week away during the breakthrough but in all honesty I wish we'd factored in living elsewhere for about a month.
It will affect everywhere as you end up with boxes of stuff in the rooms and the dust obviously.
The other part was the heating in the old part working and new part not being in yet (I'm asthmatic so the difference in temperature was a struggle!)
Have you got any plans to look at?

Oh and if you have pets the mud and dirt gets in from day 1!

We had exactly the same but we had a tiny kitchen extension (previous owners built) that had to come down at the start so the knock through was really early in the process. It simply wasn't on our radar to move out (couldn't afford it but think it was priceless to be on site) but it was hard work.

The dust will get everywhere. Literally everywhere. It just feels dirty. If you can move out every now & again for a week or go on holiday at least you'll get a break from it. Also ask the builders if you'll have any time without a kitchen or bathroom. Go then too.

My tip would be to rent a local storage unit. Move absolutely everything you can out for 6 months. Be ruthless about what you'll really want back in your lovely new space (We stored a sofa for 6 months then decided we wanted a new one anyway!!).

Good luck - it'll be worth it!

We had a major extension built and a total refit of the whole house. We stayed here. Put as much stuff in storage as you can. We had one room which was only having a new window so we holed up in there, make it cosy and comfortable and just let the chaos happen. There are advantages to being on scene - we nearly had a door knocked through in the wrong place. When they knock through the whole house vibrates, it is quite alarming! Don't worry about the dust overmuch, it will get everywhere, so cover stuff up with dustsheets. Once they have finished you can have a good clean. Mind you, we don't have children, I think it would be hard if you have.

The builders would normally put a big plastic sheet between the area the extension is being built and the existing building , this keeps a fair amount of dust away. Keep all the doors to rooms shut as much as possible too. We lived upstairs for a couple of months. Put some bits in storage and rest in boxes in the bedrooms. It was tough but worth it. It’s not forever.

We had a 2 storey side extension. They worked outside mostly although the plumber and electrician had to work inside the main house especially as we had central heating fitted in the whole house at the same time.
It was fine as we could still live easily in the main house and they partially knocked through to the landing but boarded it up until they were ready to knock through properly.

We went on holiday for 7 days when they did the final knocking through - we booked a couple of months in advance and the builder worked to that date as it suited him to not have to clear up every night during that week.

It wasn't nearly as bad as i thought it would be - apart from 3 months of playing tea lady!

We already have a storage unit so planning on completely emptying as much as possible into there.
We don’t have any pets but we do have two children. The bathroom should be untouched but we will be without a kitchen for a few weeks I imagine. I am planning on setting up a mini kitchen in the study.
I am hoping to keep doors shut as much as possible and camp out in the front of the house/ outside as it will be summer.
We have emptied the garage for more room errrmmm not sure how else we can prepare really, I will be at home most days and will be armed with the vacuum and the kettle!
The builders have agreed to do upstairs first so we can have that area for us whilst they do downstairs. Upstairs should be fairly simple as it is just a case of making two rooms bigger.

We have 3 DCs aged 5 and under. Currently renovating a 6 bedroom house (so a lot to do).

All our furniture us in storage. We are sleeping in a 6 berth caravan in the garden. It is actually very comfortable, cosy and clean and gives us some privacy. We can still use one large living room and the kitchen.loft extension is finished. First floor currently being fitted out. Next week the ground floor alterations start and the cellar conversion. We will have 5 bathrooms. We are having 4 bathrooms fitted at the moment and will always have one functional on rotation.

The key is to discuss everything with the builder and make it clear that eg you will always need at least one bathroom. Discuss carefully what will happen with timings for any kitchen refit. What will happen with washing machine when utility is being done etc? Where can it be plumbed in. It is easier when it is a bigger house so at least two bathrooms etc. I think it would be a lot harder and actually not feasible if there was only one bathroom and that was ripped out.

We lived through total renovations in our last house and I struggled with dust everywhere and lack of privacy - hence the caravan. I don't think you can be off site however as there are a million decisions to make and our builders start at 7:45am so I would have needed to come from any rental house to this house before the nursery/school drop off and discuss everything which is just not feasible

Doors shut doesn't work with dust. You would need to seal doors with tape and all the skirting boards. Plus someone always needs to get into a room you have shut off to check something e.g. wiring. You just have to accept there will be dust everywhere. Do not use your own vacuum to clean it. It will kill it. Insist on the builder giving you a Henry Hoover or a wet and dry Hoover.

Also factor in that your front door will be left open constantly as supplies are coming in/people with heavy tools etc. Whilst decent builders will respect that this is your house, they do have to feasibly get in with their job and have clear and free access. If not, they will be pissed off and everything will take a lot longer which can increase cost

Sorry - final point - never get into the habit of making tea and coffee. Give the builders their own kettle/mugs/milk/sugar/spoons/tea/coffee and plastic biscuit tin. Keep it all well supplied and be generous with juice/ice lollies etc in the summer if it is hot. But you will never be finished if you start making drinks and it is not a habit you want to start

Yes, we stayed in our house while similar work was going on and were without a kitchen for ten weeks. It wasn't that bad. It was very cold though as half the back of the house was off.
Agree with taping up the doors. It will be horrendously dusty and then dusty again with the plastering but you just have to get on with it.

We lived in our house whilst we had a single extension done. For us it was ok. The builders did a good job keeping the dust out. As long as you have heating, hot water and kitchen facilities it's doable. Being able to speak with the builders at any point in time was also great to make minor changes as they went along.

We had a 3 year old and a newborn and our works took 6 weeks.

We lived in during our single storey extension. It was “fine” in that we managed, but it was very stressful and def had an impact on my performance at work for a 3 month period. We were without access to the ground floor for about 8 weeks. Do not underestimate the dust!!!

We’ve lived through 4 refurbs and extensions! Last one included taking up concrete floors and fitting underfloor heating. Builders had access via conservatory and we set up a temporary kitchen in the utility room. We taped up all of the doors to “good rooms” which saved on the dust. Once all finished we got a team of cleaners in for a day which was a godsend. It can be frustrating but I just thought of the rent we saved on alternative accommodation!

I did this with 2dc but with less rooms and for 8 months! My tips are:

• make a temp kitchen in a room. Buy a small induction hot plate (lidl are selling) and a small second hand fridge.
• get the builders to build a temp stud partition wall between you and them- it cost us a couple of hundred but gave us total privacy (builders arrive early so we could still be in bed) and NO DUST! It only came down right at the end. It also makes the house a bit more secure.
• you will need your 10% contingency
• decided on you bathrooms and tiles first not at the end!
• put EVERYTHING you possibly can in an easy to access self store - get a generous size so you can easily get to stuff.

Repeat many times a day " it will be worth it" - it will!!

We did a one storey extension two years ago and lived in. Our kids were 8 and 15 months, 15 months is quite possibly the worst age to have a house full of dangerous tools, builders coming in and out, loud drilling interfering with naps.
I also couldn’t set up a temporary kitchen as the toddler tried to pull the kettle on top of himself so and put things in the microwave. That was quickly abandoned.
We had a budget instead for cheap eating out. We could manage breakfasts (cereal) with the help of disposable crockery and cutlery and a mini fridge.
Lunches were either picnics or a quick sandwich. Teas were quite often offered by family and friends or we made use of supermarket kids eat free offers.

If someone had offered we would have definitely moved out but no one did and we had no budget to do so. I think it was the age of my youngest which made it especially hard.

We love Love Love the extension now though.

We are currently right in the middle of this. Dustguards - brilliant. Been told about the dust hell but with these it really wasn't so bad. The dust has so far been contained and our lounge was only protected by the dustguard.

The muddy footprints and mess does begin to get you down and we are now living in our lounge with a hob to do cooking on!

Must admit I'm beginning to have had enough but the end is now in sight.
We don't have the money to move out so no choice. And actually its been ok really. Good to be able to speak to the builders etc.
Its more hassle not having a proper kitchen. Its also frustrating having all the new space and being crammed into one room!!

Oh and we have 2 kids

Following. We are almost 12 weeks into what was meant to be a 16 week project. Unfortunately, our builder is completely inept and we are about 5 weeks behind schedule, meaning I have at least another 11 weeks of this bullshit to go through.

We are having a double story side, single story rear extension - there is mud everywhere (they have completely wrecked our front garden & a lot of the grass at the back) because of our dog - we wipe his feet as best we can but he still seems to track stuff in. It is about to get significantly more dusty - they are meant to be knocking out part of the kitchen wall tomorrow to put one of the steels in. The house was gross when we bought it, the oven has never worked so that won't be a massive change and we have only decorated the front bedroom, lounge & bathroom so everywhere else is already a mess. We are going to empty our stuff out and tape up the kitchen door tonight in an attempt to contain the dust. We are also having the solid floors dug out downstairs so at that point we are moving in with the ILs. Will likely be for about 4 weeks........

You need to be super careful with safety if your kids are young ie doors locked, stair gates fastened etc - in hindsight that was the riskiest thing of living on site with young kids and builders in and out of house and distracting you with urgent requests. Dust can be cleaned up.

Our study is pretty much empty except the desk and piano so hoping to use this for mini kitchen.
The two bedrooms and bathroom arn’t having any work done and neither is the utility room.
What are dustguards.? They sound good!
Thanks for all helpful tips so far, the builders come highly recommended so i’m Hopeful they will be good for us too.

We lived through it. Lots of good tips here. Didn't think about self-storage but it is a great idea. Agree re temporary kitchen. We got an oven with two jobs rings on top. With kettle toaster and microwave we could make quite a lot. Make sure you have a worktop space for chopping, spreading on toast etc.

It was very very hard. But I was glad to be on site to discuss things daily. But if you work from home the noise will be prohibitive so plan to be out.

YY to taping up doors, even after knock through if they can access from the back as much as possible via windows etc this will hugely help. Our builders took out a whole chimney stack this way which really reduced the impact of a very messy job on us in terms of dirt.

Luckily or not I will be on maternity leave so no work just a small baby to manage for half of it!

We only have decorators here for all the other rooms atm and absolutely agree don’t do the tea - let them use what they need and make their own

We will be doing the kitchen extension in the next year or so. So when people say put stuff in storage do you mean stuff not in the kitchen? Eg new sofas in the living room - would they stay new with a dust sheet?

Our sofas are still absolutely fine and we have them right next to the dustguard! Ill find a link to the ones we have.